Its heart rate and stress tracker will follow later in the year
Healthcare startup VivaLnk has announced that its debut wearable, the Fever Scout, has been approved by the FDA and is now on sale.
The device is a continuous, wearable thermometer and a showcase for VivaLnk to prove itself with a commercial medical-grade device. It’s designed to be worn, near the armpit, for up to seven days before needing a recharge and is targeted primarily at parents who want to remotely and continuously monitor their children’s temperature.
You do have to change the adhesives every 24 hours, however, while the Scout has an amplified Bluetooth connection capable of reaching 131 feet to a smartphone or tablet, where you can track the wearer’s temperature.
Read next: How VivaLnk plans to bring medical-grade data to the masses
When we met with co-founder and CEO Jiang Li, he explained how the company is trying to bring conventional medical-grade devices into the modern wearable era, but beyond the wrist. “From my view I think the wrist worn device is the first chapter of the book, so getting early adopters to understand their steps and calories,” he told us. “But they’re not enough to gain all the insights for your health.”
Li added that he sees devices like this as “a good link between health care professionals and normal consumers.”
VivaLnk is currently working on another, similar device for adults called the Vital Scout, which is worn on the chest and monitors heart rate, sleep quality and stress levels. It’s essentially a fitness tracker, but one designed to be incredibly accurate that can still be worn through the day and night.
VivaLnk came on the scene in 2014 when it teamed up with Google for the Motorola NFC tattoo. That was a precursor to what the company is doing now, and now it sees a big future in eSkin wearables that are discreet yet medically accurate.
As for the Fever Scout, it costs $59.99 and will be available from a bunch of big retailers. No word on a UK launch yet.